Gameplay

Fighters

• Sasuke Sarutobi - the main hero of the game. A ninja expert and betrayer of his own ninja clan who seeks to avenge his father's death.
• Houoh - a skilled exorcist who is unsure of his own powers.
• Goemon Ishikawa - a ninja thief whose goal is to collect the largest treasures in Japan.
• Kamui - the rival to Sasuke. An old acquaintance of Sasuke's, Kamui hopes to destroy him after Sasuke has forsaken the clan.
• Karasu - a serial killer and bodyguard who is obsessed with ravens (Karasu means "Raven" in Japanese).
• Kasumi Kotenkenbu - a ninja apprentice whose grandmother prevents her from going after Nobunaga. Not to be confused with the characters of same name from the later Tecmo's Dead or Alive.
• Natsume - an orphan who, after having a nightmare, strives to kill Nobunaga. She reappears in a hack of Sega's Streets of Rage 2 called Girls' Paradise.
• Oda Nobunaga - the final boss of the game. A tyrant brainwashed by the demon known as Haoh, Nobunaga sets out to conquer the world.
• Raiga - a renowned bounty hunter whose mission is to defeat Goemon.
• Ranmaru Mumiyo Kagura - the sub-boss of the game. An immortal and loyal servant to Nobunaga, Ranmaru attempts to vanquish Haoh, who possesses Nobunaga.
• Tenho - an old Japanese man who was abandoned in Korea at birth.
• Kongouarahan Unzen - a former monk in search of the best aspect of life.

Like various ADK games, SNK Playmore also revived characters from Ninja Master's in later releases. The main character of Ninja Master's, Sasuke, appears as an SNK character card in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS.